


Magic Artificial: Nanowrimo challenge

by jinxedragon



Category: Original Work
Genre: Dark Fantasy, Graphic Description, Monsters and Demons, Multi, NaNoWriMo
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-11-02
Updated: 2016-11-03
Packaged: 2018-08-28 13:15:57
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,193
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8447350
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jinxedragon/pseuds/jinxedragon
Summary: Alec Morgan has committed the crime of surviving when he was destined not too. Now charged with making deals with demons, he is sentenced to life as a container: a being used to contain demonic entities that wreck havoc on the world.Refusing to become a mindless vessel for a demon, he must escape the authorities that hold him. All while fighting his inner demons and the very real demons that are after him.





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Warning you now that i plan to get dark with this story before it gets light.  
> This is my entry for nanowrimo; I'll be updating it daily and it will be taking up a lot of my time. Unfortunately that means updates for the wanderer will be slowing down. This is going up unedited, so there will be countless mistakes but hopefully by the end of November I'll have a written enough of this story that i can go back and edit it to my hearts content.

  I remembered the burning fire roaring on all sides, the smell of smoke filling my lungs as I struggled to breathe. The building me and several others had been squatting in had caught on fire; whether someone had done it purposefully or accidentally no one knew and, to be honest, no one cared. If it was our time to die than no one would bat an eye, it was just how fate worked sometimes.

  The only problem was that I didn’t die, I survived. The building had burnt to ashes around me and I was left untouched and left with a fate worse than death.

  This world was ruled over by The Fates, who judged you based on any deviations you committed that didn’t fit with their plan.  Depending on the degree you could get a slap on the wrist or worse be sentenced to life as a container. 

  A container was an ‘object’ made to contain demonic entities. In my world a container is used by magicians and The Fates to hold these demons, keeping them from terrorizing the populace. They are made to trap the demon in a compliant form, were neither the container nor the demon can resist the orders they are given. All your basic human rights got thrown out the window as soon as the sentence was passed, you were no longer a person you were a tool.

  The Fates were your judge, jury and executioner; usually they over watched only magicians, people born with magical abilities, and witches, people who made their own magic. Those two groups were the most likely to deviate from fate because of their tendency to deal in demons but even norms like myself could get involved with demons. When that happened The Fates needed to convincing to step in and cast judgment.

  I was one of the norms who had never seen magic before let alone a demon. I had lived a ‘normal’ life; if you could call being disowned by your family and having to live on the streets normal. I couldn’t get a job because they were all looking for magical ability and I had absolute zero. I had contemplated becoming a witch but being a witch required resources; not to mention the extra amount of scrutiny that came with being a witch.

  Some, and by some I actually mean most, wanted to outlaw all witchcraft because it wasn’t ‘natural’ like the magicians magic. The Fates allowed it, though, because it was what they had foreseen, even so you couldn’t get rid of peoples prejudice with just a snap of your fingers.

  I had been 16 when I was kicked out of my family’s house and on Nov 1st 20XX I was 23 and I was supposed to die. It’s a day later now and I’m 24, my fate no longer written in stone.

\-----

  I sat kneeling in a darkened room, my hands tied in front of me. I don’t remember how I got here; I only remember the screams, the smoke and the fire. I knew I had to have passed out during the fire, only I never expected I’d be alive at the end of it.

  _Maybe I am dead_ ; I thought to myself my eyes trying to adjust to the darkness. My legs felt numb and the bindings on my wrists seemed to grow more painful with each passing second. _I must be alive if I feel pain,_ I thought wincing as I tried to adjust my sitting position only to have a firm grip come out of the darkness and hold my shoulder, and self, firmly in place.

  Lights suddenly blinded me and a voice spoke out.

    “Alec Morgan, you are accused of dealings with demons. How do you plead?” my eyes slowly adjusted focusing on to the ethereal being to my left that had spoken. They seemed to glow and patterns twisted across their translucent skin. On the other sides of me sat four other beings; all sitting on thrones. Two of them freely showed their translucent skin like the first, while the others wore dark hooded robes hiding their forms.

  “Not guilty,” I spoke out, a sense of comfort feeling my very being. I was mesmerized by their appearance having never seen The Fates before.

  “Then how do you explain your survival? There was found to be not a single burn or injury upon you,” One of the hooded figures on the right demanded.  

  “I honestly don’t know,” I said my head swinging towards the figure, “I woke up and the building was on fire. I was stuck in the room, I had no way out, but the fire never came for me…” I was just as confused as they had to be. “I don’t know why or how, I just know I’m alive.”

  “There is evidence of demonic tampering; your very survival shows that clearly. Whether it was you who made the deal or another no longer matters,” the being that sat in front of me spoke.

  “What do you mean it doesn’t matter?” I asked panicking; they couldn’t have made a decision already, right? They wouldn’t just throw me to the wolves without hearing what I had to say, would they? “It has to matter! I’ve had no dealings with demons!” I cried out.

  “It does not matter for your very survival is a crime against fate and for that we have decided your punishment,” they continued speaking. Panic was beginning to rise in my throat, I wanted to scream at how outrageous this was but I kept my mouth shut. “You are sentenced to life as a container.”

  I could feel the blood drain from my face, “No, no! Please no, just kill me, please!” I screamed at them.

  “You are to be sent to training immediately. You are no longer a person, you are an object. A tool to be used at our discretion,” they finished, all of the standing as men entered the room.

The man gripping my shoulder forced me to my feet allowing the others to grab and drag me away. I fought, I kicked, I bit, I screamed, and when nothing worked I cried. Death would have been preferable to the fate I was now assigned.

\-----

  They left me stripped of my clothes in an empty white room. I slid down against a side wall, my head soon resting on my knees.

  _This isn’t happening this isn’t happening_ ; I tried to tell myself only to choke back a sob. This was happening and there was nothing I could do about it. I could only wait for the ‘training’ to start.

  I’d heard the horror stories of what they did to containers; of the endless torture, of the runes burned and carved into their skin, of how they broke their minds so that all that was left was an empty shell. I was no stranger to pain but I knew that this pain was going to be unimaginable. I would fight though; By the fates I would fight them every step of the way.

  I didn’t have to wait long, but what came through the door I was definitely was not expecting.

  Her head came first dozens of eyes dotting her face; her wide mouth became a grin as she saw me huddled on the floor. Her body followed her in through the door; six arms helping push her way through. Six breasts adorned her chest and a large centipede like body flowed behind her.

“Czecn,” I squeaked at the sight of her.

  “Ah this one knows my species,” she hissed her long tongue dropping out of her mouth. I huddled closer to the wall as she approached, “This one is a smart container. Not like the others… You will be fun,” she giggled her putrid face now next to mine.

  I winced back, “Fuck off,” I commanded looking her in the eyes, pretending I wasn’t scared shitless.

  “Yes, fun indeed” she murmured happily. Grabbing my short black hair in her hand she began to drag me the way she had come through; me kicking and screaming along the way.

  She dragged me down narrow passage ways, until we finally ended at her deemed destination; a dungeon.

  “This will be its home now,” she said throwing me to the ground. “This will be where it is made.”

  I scrambled to my feet backing away from her. It had to be a fucking Czecn, of course it did.

  A Czecn was a humanoid centipede monster that was renowned for its torture techniques. Its existence is why no one went into caves alone because if they did they were destined to become playthings to a Czecn.

  Czecn’s feed off the suffering of their prey, a perfect job for them would be making containers. They had the natural skills of breaking someone’s wills, as well as the precise handwork for applying runes.

  Admittedly not many knew people knew this much about them, but I did. I had lost several friends, who instead of braving the cold nights, decided to camp in a nearby cave. Their screams had ringed long throughout the night; the rest of us too scared to help them. Maybe this was payback for not helping all those people we had lost to the monsters. Maybe The Fates liked to watch me suffer. Either way I wasn’t going down without a fight.

  A tray of tools stood next to me, and before the Czecn could come closer I grabbed the try throwing it at her face. Then I ran, I ran only to be stopped by an iron door that was clearly locked from the outside.

  I heard laughter behind me, “This one will be fun indeed.” She grabbed my head and bashed it into the door. “Are you ready to scream?” she whispered into my ear her tongue licking my neck. I was screaming long before she bit the blade into my skin.


	2. Chapter 2

     Pain had a way of dulling your sense of time. Sometimes a minute felt like an hour; or a month felt like only a minute. It gets to the point that you forget time and only focus on the times in-between that pain. 

  The Czecn was good at her job, I could feel a little part of myself break away after every session, even so I was still fighting back. I knew I was taking longer to break than the others before me had been. It had gotten to the point that even the Czecn was growing frustrated with my stubbornness, possibly to the point she would make a ‘mistake’ and leave me dying.

  “It’s only a matter of time, thing. It will break and it will be ready,” she hissed her face in front of mine. I spit at her, earning several lashings across my back.

  Time passed and I no longer had hope of escape. I had no hope left at all, until she had made a fatal mistake.

  Blood dripped from my face, remnants of the carved runes that now covered not only my face but my entire body. She released my hands, fully assured that I had passed out from the pain. I fell to the ground, allowing the cold floor to soothe my wounds.

  That when I spotted it. Cracking my eyes open I saw a knife only inches away from my body. I weakly reached out and gripped it tight and then I waited, listening to her scuttle across the floor; until I heard the click of a door.

  Where I found the energy and strength, I’ll never know; I didn’t hesitate I got up and I ran and as I passed the Czecn I stabbed her in her exposed stomach. I heard a scream of pain as I began my sprint down the corridor. Adrenaline fueled my steps as I continued on too afraid to look back and see how far behind me she was.

  I sprinted through the twisted corridors, having no clue where I was going or where I was headed.  I ran tell all that was left was a door in front of me and quickly, the scuttle of legs behind me, I opened it and I jumped into the abyss below me.

  I heard the crashing of waves first, then I hit the water; my body screaming in pain as the salt water entered my wounds. A let out a gasp, only to have water fill my lungs. The waves crashed and rolled my body against the rocky cliffs. _I’m going to drown, I’m going to die_ ; I thought in relief.

  There would be no more pain, there would be no more torture; just a blissful end to everything.

  I was barely aware as a pair of hands grabbed me and pulled me up and onto a hard floor. Cold air suddenly blasting me and chilling me to the bone.

  “…you….right?” I heard through a blurry haze as I coughed up sea water. My head was spinning, my body was between burning in pain and freezing from the sudden cold, and I wanted to cry out in frustration.

  I looked up with a glare at the person who had ‘saved’ me, my teeth chattering. A man with long brown hair and pale skin kneeled next to me, looking at me with concern clearly etched on his face.

  “Look at the mark…we need blan…leave,” he said looking behind him. My head was spinning and I closed my eyes resting my head against the hard floor. _Why do The Fates hate me?_ Was my final thought before I passed out.

 ----

   I woke up in a bed, the world around me rocking. Sitting up, I winced as I immediately regretted that decision. My body was still clearly in pain but I wasn’t cold anymore and honestly that probably made the pain worse.

  “You should lie back down, you’ve got a lot of healing to do,” the man with the long brown hair said, his hair now tied into a messy bun. In response I glared at him, willing him to go away with my mind. _Why did he care, why was I even here and not back in that dungeon?_

  He held up a plate of food, “Is that any way to look at the man who brought you breakfast?” he smiled with a quirk of his eyebrow. I continued to glare at him but my stomach betrayed me as a loud rumble filled the small room; he laughed in response.

_When was the last time I ate?_ I couldn’t for the life of me remember when I had last eaten. It couldn’t have been too long ago, though. The Czecn had to have feed me to keep me alive.

  I reached for the plate uncertainly, and he let me take it without a fuss. I looked at the food on the plate; bacon and eggs. When was the last time I had eaten something like that; it had to have been long before my ‘death’.

  Tears filled my eyes as I stared at the food before me as they tumbled down my face; I let out a loud sob. I couldn’t hold it in; I cried sobbing into a plate of eggs and bacon. It was over, I had done it, I had escaped.

  “Hey, hey. You’re alright now. You’re safe,” he murmured softly, making no move to touch me. “Hey, no one here’s going to hurt you, alright,” he continued trying to comfort me.

  “What’s the date?” I choked out through the sobs. _How long was I there…_

  “October 31, 20XX,” he said. I choked out a laugh, and I kept laughing. _Almost a year,_ I laughed at the absurdity of it, _How the fuck am I still here_. A year of endless pain of endless torture; It all could of ended so simply. I could have drowned and the year of pain would have been gone forever. But this dickhead had to fucking ruin it.

  My laughter stopped abruptly, _all this would be over now_ , I glared at him, _if not for you_.

“Get out,” I ground through my teeth. He held up his hands, backing off and left the room without a word. I sat staring at my now soggy breakfast. I wanted to cry again. _I should’ve died_ , the thought came. I let out another choked sob.

  My stomach was growling in protest now and I studied the food before me. I wasn’t back in the dungeon meaning they either didn’t know what I was or they did and chose not to return me. The breakfast was most likely not poisoned or drugged, so I took a bite.

    It was like eating for the first time; I scarfed it down, trying to hold back the tears that threatened to shed again.

  Finishing the breakfast, I sat the plate down on the nearby coffee table. I considered the room around me. The bed I sat in took up half a corner of the room and across the room a bunk bed was clearly attached to the wall.  The coffee table stuck out from behind the bed I was currently in.  I tried to view more of the room but my body protested in pain as I tried to move.

  The room was overall messily lived in. I laid back down on the bed wincing as the sheets rubbed against my skin. I idly slept, ready to wake at a moment’s notice.

  It wasn’t long before boot hit the steps between the room and the upper level. The long brown haired man came into view.

   He looked at me, his forehead scrunched and his eyes gazing at me softly, “You’re still awake, good.” He moved grabbing a chair that was somewhere beyond my vision. “We have some questions for you, if you don’t mind answering them mam?”

  I stared at him for a good long time. It had been a long time since someone had called me that, for the most part I passed rather well as male without the treatments or surgeries.

  “My body might be ‘female’ but I sure as hell am not,” I stated dully. I guess I couldn’t really blame him I was still very naked from my time in the dungeon and it’s not like the Czecn had written male on my forehead with the other runes she had carved.

  He looked at me surprised, “My apologies I didn’t mean to offend. Um… what would you prefer than?”

  “Male pronouns or my name, Alec,” I said and added softly, “Please.”

  “Of course Alec,” he replied softly, “My name is Ben.” He held out his hand towards me. I stared at for a minute, the atmosphere growing awkward.

  “No offense but I don’t really feel like touching anyone right now,” I said looking at his hand in disgust.

 “Right, right… sorry,” he replied apologetically, withdrawing his hand back.

 “You had questions,” I affirmed, casting him a wary glance. _What if he kept me to use me_ , the markings had been completed I could be used as a container, just not an effective one. I felt myself pull back away from.

  “Yes, do you remember jumping off the cliff?” he asked folding his hands together in his lap.

  “Cliff? What about the building?” I asked looking at him confused.

  “…There was no building on the cliff…” he continued, “From what we could see, you came out of nowhere and jumped of the cliff.”  A look of concern crossed his face as he glanced at the markings covering my face and arms, the blanket firmly covering the rest of them. “The markings…” he paused.

  “Their exactly what you think they are,” I stated, staring at him waiting for his response.

  “You still have your mind, though… How…” his face scrunched in confusion, his eyes focusing on his hands. “What did you do?” his face hardened as the question left his lips.

  “I survived,” I whispered my eyes focusing on the bed above me. I survived, that was the answer to what felt like everything. All my troubles all my pain; all of it existed because I survived not just the burned building but everything before that.

  “That’s it?” he asked a hint of anger on the edge of his words.

  “That’s it,” I repeated back moving my head to look at his eyes. Brown eyes stared back at me, contemplating my words.

  “Why don’t you try to get some rest,” he finished, standing up and starting towards the stairs.

  “Please, don’t give me back,” I heard my voice crack out. “Please just kill me if you’re going to do that,” I pleaded, another sob threatening to break free.

  “We’re not giving you to anyone…you’ll be safe here,” he calmly replied, looking like he had been stung by my words. I didn’t believe him but I closed my eyes anyway.


	3. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is part 1 of chapter 2

   It had been several weeks since Ben had pulled me out of the water. From our talks I learned we were on a fishing boat with several others. There was Ben, the captain Jay, Silvia, and Ray. Other than Ben, only Jay had come down once or twice to check on me.

  He had black greying hair the adorned a shaggy beard and medium haircut. Looking at just his face your first impression would be pirate; a pirate in a puffy blue jacket and a sailor hat. Overall though, he was a nice man; he’s stop by asking me how I was faring both mentally and physically. He made sure I was ok with Ben taking care of me, asking if I preferred someone else.

  I didn’t give him much to go on about my health but I told him Ben was fine. A feeling prickled at the back of my mind; _Experience_ , I thought, _they had experience with this of some sort_. They were careful to give me space, careful of the words they spoke. It didn’t necessarily set off warning bells, just made me more cautious with them.

  They could be anything from rebels to agents of the fates; or they could just be norms who worked as fishermen.

  For the most part, they didn’t ask questions about me, or at least they hadn’t gotten around to it yet. I had explained why I had been sentenced to life as a container and nothing more than that. They didn’t push for more than that, I think a part of them didn’t want to hear the horror of what had been done to me.

  Ben had been working around the clock trying to help me. He brought me lose baggy clothing, something that would hide my chest and not rub too badly against my wounds. He also brought me bandages, pain killers, and poultices.

  I never let him touch me, and he didn’t bother trying too. He’d leave the room allowing me to take care of my wounds myself.  He’d also bring me food when I needed it and kept me company when panic and anxiety began to set in.

  The way he seemed to know everything I needed and the fact that they had the things I needed unsettled me. Not only that, my wounds were also healing faster than expected some were already faint scars when they had been gapping wounds just weeks before. My suspicions grew stronger every day until I finally voiced them.

  “Are you a magician?” I asked one early morning. I sat on the edge of the bed, the long sleeves of my grey sweatshirt rolled up and the darker grey pants bunched at the bottoms of my feet, clearly too long.  My body had healed enough to allow me to move without extreme pain.

  He laughed in response, “Not anymore, now I’m considered a natural.”

  “A natural?” I asked in confusion.

  He took the opportunity to sit on the bed across from mine, making eye contact with me as he said, “It’s a new term their using for people who only have one ability. As you’ve probably guessed I’m clairvoyant but that’s all I am.”

  “Only one ability… but can’t you also heal?” I scrunched my face in confusion.

  He looked at me silently, murmuring to himself, “You are sharp.” He paused for a second gathering his thoughts, “Not really,” he began, “I had some help with that.”

  “Witchcraft,” I stated more than asked. He wouldn’t be the first magician, or I guess natural, to use it to aide their abilities.

  He barked out a laugh, “You say that so simply.” He shook his head and continued, “I guess you don’t know then… Witchcraft was outlawed about 6 months ago.”

  “What!? Why?” I asked in shock. The Fates had claimed that Witchcraft was a big part of the fates to come. Why would they allow it to be banned?

  “According to The Fates a new fate is being written without their knowledge or consent; their blaming witchcraft and its practitioners.  People have been rounded up and never heard from again,” he explained as he leaned back on the bed, a hint of mist around his eyes. “We thought that maybe you had been a witch that had been taken but your story says otherwise.”

  “You think witches are being turned into containers than?” I questioned.

  “We have our suspicions,” he commented idly, trying to not sound too concerned with it. He was terrible at it though, concern was written all over his face.

  “You’re not actually fishermen are you,” I said crossing my arms, wincing a little as pain shot through them. I knew they weren’t fishermen, but that was all I knew about them.

 “No we’re not fishermen,” he stated not adding anything more to it.

  I threw up my hands in frustration, which was a mistake as I cried out and had to breathe through my teeth until the pain stopped.

  Through my teeth I grounded out, “Then what the fuck are you! Why the fuck have you been helping me, Why didn’t you just let me die?!”

 He sighed in frustration, “We’re helping you because you need the help. Ever heard of Hunters before?”

  “They hunt monsters and demons,” I stated neutrally as I rubbed my arms.

  “Well that’s what we do,” he said with a shrug of his shoulder, “We help people by taking care of any monsters or demons that decide to start hurting and killing people.”

“And how do you deal with demons,” I could hear myself ask fear etching its way into my voice as I automatically leaned farther away from him.

  “We don’t use containers,” he said softly, “At least not human ones, anyway. We make special jars using witchcraft that can hold pretty strong demons.”

  “And the ones that can’t be held in jars?” I asked unconvinced.

  He hesitated before answering, “… we summon their true form and kill them.”

  I let out a bark of laughter, “No fucking way” A demons true form was said to be a thousand times stronger than its corporal form, there was no way they could take on one.

  “Yes fucking way; It’s definitely a hard fight but if you’re properly prepared you can definitely kill one,” he explained, clearly amused by my reaction. “And if you’re careful enough the only thing that’s going to die is the demon.”

I shook my head unbelievably, than a thought struck me, why where hunters on a fishing boat off the coast of Edmund.

  “Why-“

  He answered before I could finish asking, “At first it was because we were hired to kill a sea monster but then I had a vision of someone jumping off a cliff, so we took a detour to pick you up.”

  “Wait… you haven’t killed the monster yet,” my face paled in fear.

  “Don’t worry, we’ve been assured that it’s a small one,” he said with a grin as he stood up. “Speaking of which I should probably be helping them search for it right now.”

  “Ben,” I warned, I was not going to be a fucking alone with a monster lose; I’d had enough of monsters to last me a lifetime.

  He paused and looked me in the eyes, “Actually it turns out it just found us.” He turned running up the stairs, “Stay down there, you’ll be safe.” He called behind him.

  I stood up, ignoring the pain shooting through my legs, and looked around the room for something to fight with.  I could feel my body shaking in fear; _not again, not again_ , my thoughts began to repeat.

  I grabbed the nearest solid object I could find, a thick cane of solid would that had been propped up against the far side of the room.

I could hear the commotion upstairs now, people running and shouting. I took a step towards the stairs only to stumble as the boat began to rock hard back and forth.

  “It’s going to the stairs,” a female voice shouted and I quickly looked towards the stairs. Dread creeping its way through my body as I saw it.  A dark greyish form came speeding down the stairs with long gangly legs and bright red eyes. Black tar dripped off of it splatting to the floor with a soft thud.  

  It looked right at me, and grinned twisting it’s head to the side. It took a step towards me, my grip on the cane faltered. It lunged.

  A bright light filled the room and in front of me stood a tall woman. Her skin was a dark brown and her hair was a mix of purple and black curls. She wore a simple blue t-shirt and jeans.

  “Sorry sweetheart, but you’re going to have to find your snack elsewhere,” she sneered at the monster. It hissed in response and aimed for her throat as it leaped.

  In response she held out her hands, two swords summoned into her hands, and then she sliced. It took only a moment before the beasts head fell to the ground, its head clearly severed from its body.  Black tar gushed from where the head had been severed. I felt bile rise up in the back of my throat.

  She looked down at the monster than she turned her head to me, bright green eyes catching my blue ones. “You okay?” she asked softly kneeling down to where I had fallen to my knees. _I don’t remember falling,_ I thought as I gulped down spit trying to keep the bile back.

  “Yeah,” I squeaked out, “Honestly that would have been really cool if I wasn’t so fucking scared right now,” I shakily laughed.

  She smiled, and it seemed to light up the entire room. “Are you okay with walking? It’s safe to be up on deck now.”

  I nodded my head and shakily stood up, she carefully guided me towards the steps and over the monster, making sure not to touch me. The fresh salty air that hit my face, gave me a sense of relief. I breathed it in allowing myself to calm down, closing my eyes and allowing myself to steady. I opened my eyes to a ‘new’ world.


End file.
